MetaFilter posts tagged with Switzerland

On Architectural Criticism

Vetinari — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:44:17 -0800

Swiss voters moonlight as architecture critics. The construction of minarets in Switzerland is now forbidden, with 57% in favor of the ban, freezing the number in the country at four, with one under construction. The right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) (previously) put the initiative forward, advertising with posters, seemingly equating minarets with missles, that were banned as racist in Basel and cities in Vaud, neither canton of which voted in favor. The Swiss government (Federal Council) and Parliament (in German) were opposed. A ban on minaret construction will be added to Article 72 of the Swiss Federal Constitution (pdf), which presently delegates all matters of church and state and to the cantons, aside from the responsibility to "preserve public peace between the members of different religious communities". Switzerland's largest city, Zürich, has one minaret, which has not to date been the focus of much controversy. Perhaps it is difficult to appear aggressive while being dwarfed by the church across the street?

Let me take you to Circly Town

yiftach — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:48:58 -0800

Artist Felice Varini has made an art project out of the town of Vercorin in the Swiss Alps. A wee bit of background, and the artist's own behind the scenes. (via)

Cowboy Desperado.

lazaruslong — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:57:47 -0800

First-person base jumping in Switzerland. Stick with it, as the horizontal movement across the rock face using the gliding bodysuit will blow your mind.

Polanski arrested

acb — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 06:55:58 -0800

Film director Roman Polanski, who won numerous awards for films like Chinatown and The Pianist, has been detained for extradition to the US, whilst travelling to Switzerland to collect a lifetime achievement award at the Zürich Film Festival. Polanski spent the past three decades in exile in France, which (unlike Switzerland) has no extradition treaty with the US, after being convicted of having raped a 13-year-old girl at a party. He was nonetheless able to sue for libel in the UK despite being a fugitive there. The victim has asked for charges to be dropped, though Polanski has, until now, been a wanted man in the US. If he is extradited, he faces up to life imprisonment.

From Switzerland With No Love

DreamerFi — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:38:58 -0800

Swiss private bank Wegelin says goodbye and good riddance to America. Swiss private bank Wegelin announced two weeks ago that it is to stop doing business in the United States. The St Gallen-based bank, Switzerland's oldest, said the decision had been taken in response to stricter measures introduced in the US against tax dodgers and planned changes to estate tax, which would make some non-US citizens liable to tax if they inherited US securities. In a letter to investors it said Swiss banks were likely to find themselves in an untenable position, as they would be expected to know which clients were liable to pay US tax – "an impossible undertaking", given the lack of clear definitions in the matter.

I love my LHC

tellurian — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 06:13:29 -0800

Episode 4 - Problems "Okay, sometimes I almost want to give up everything." A fascinating insight into the Large Hadron Collider (loving the soundtracks too). YTL

Deflation, Swiss Bank Accounts, etc.

ornate insect — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:29:57 -0800

What's the risk of deflation? No one knows for sure, but it cannot be ruled out--as first Japan, and now Switzerland are finding out. While Japan's troubles may sound familiar, Switzerland's situation is somewhat unique: beyond the question of its currency, the issue of tax havens has put its banks in a delicate position.

The Inland Island Fortress

mannequito — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 06:57:46 -0800

"Schengen means" there will be "no systematic control of the borders anymore". Switzerland officially cracks open its borders to Europe. While many will surely be happy to have easier access to ricola, others worry about the consequences of the Schengen enlargement.

Totentanz

445supermag — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 06:53:42 -0800

What flies and creeps, what strives and hovers What swims and flows, yes all that ever lives Flees from death, yet there's no place On earth, where death would not be.

book (design) stories

carsonb — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 01:31:30 -0800

book (design) stories: modernist book design in germany and switzerland 1925–1965 (and beyond)

Rolex watches for Allied POWs

ikkyu2 — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:45:00 -0800

"This watch costs to-day in Switzerland Frs. 250 – but you must not even think of settlement during the war." Rolex's remarkable offer to British P.O.W.s in Nazi camps during WWII. Rolex today. (via Time Zone.)

Cow Fighting Swiss Style

jontyjago — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:56:09 -0800

For the 2nd year in a row Tina is crowned la Reine des Reines (link & video in french). Le Combat des Reines is an annual event in the Swiss canton of Valais dating back to 1922. Limited to cows of the local Hérens breed, the battle consists of the 2 cows pushing each other (with blunted horns) until one backs off. Fights can last from a few seconds to 40 minutes.

If any of these pictures appear on your friends wall, he's better off than he is letting on.

dogbusonline — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 07:46:22 -0800

A trio of thieves have made off with over $150 Million in art from E.G. Buehrle Museum in Zurich, Switzerland. The four stolen paintings are Cézanne's The Boy in Red Waistcoat, Degas's Viscount Ludovic Lepic and His Daughter, Monet's Poppy Field Near Vetheuil and Van Gogh's Blooming Chestnut Branches. This comes only two weeks after 2 Picasso pieces were stolen in Pfaeffikon, Switzerland. No one has been caught in either thefts. Experts guesstimate that over 170,000 pieces of art are missing including 167 Renoirs, 166 Rembrandts, 175 Warhols and more than 200 works by Dali.
Somewhat unrelated, Russia has recently created a database of all art that is missing because of looting during World War 2. Unfortunately, It can only be viewed in Russian

This enormous red circular carriage will never fit onto the tracks!

goodnewsfortheinsane — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 07:57:51 -0800

Train tracker.

black sheep aus!

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 17:57:43 -0800

The nationalist Swiss People's Party (who garnered 26% of the vote in the last elections) is proposing a deportation policy reminiscent of Nazi-era practices. Under the plan, entire families would be expelled if their children are convicted of a violent crime, drug offense or benefits fraud. And get a load of their black sheep poster campaign, or their 2004 poster, with the dreaded black hand reaching for (gasp!) a Swiss passport. Yodel-odel-ay-eeeeeee-who?

Welcome To The Top of Europe

jonson — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 19:39:40 -0800

The Sphinx Observatory atop the Jungfraujoch in the Swiss alps is one of the most amazing man-made objects I've ever seen. A UNESCO world-heritage site, it holds the distinction of being the highest (in altitude) structure in all of Europe. Approachable by a train that runs inside the mountain (via a tunnel dug between 1896 & 1926 at the cost of a small fortune, not to mention many lives), the Observatory rests atop a glacier which has been hollowed out to feature a year round gallery of never-melting ice scultptures (glacial ice is spectacularly pretty), and an elevator up to the research station.

Helvetica: The Apotheosis of the Invisible Art

digaman — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 10:07:15 -0800

In 1957, Swiss typographer Max Miedinger invented "the official typeface of the 20th century" -- Helvetica [previously discussed here, via Arts and Letters Daily].

Don't Those Knives Come With Compasses?

zarq — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 08:22:34 -0800

The Swiss accidentally invaded Liechtenstein last night but no retaliation is expected. Oops! Guess it's time to make these standard military issue. The last time something like this happened, the Spanish ignored an accidental British invasion. Previously on MeFi: More about Liechtenstein than anyone ever cared to ask.

switzerland in a fighter jet

vronsky — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:51:15 -0800

zoom over the ice planet hoth in your x wing

Bobby Fischer vs. the UBS

slater — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 22:12:46 -0800

Bobby Fischer vs. the Union Bank of Switzerland: Chess master doesn't like his Swiss bank unilaterally closing his account. Letters go back and forth, lawyers get involved. Fischer posts all letters sent and received on his website. [Link goes to coral cache, original site is hosted at Geocities Japan. via namics weblog]

Schuss

tellurian — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 09:56:35 -0800

Melting glaciers - Once this site stops messing with your windows, there are some views of glaciers. The before and afters are supposed to be (in some cases) 100 years apart - maybe, maybe not - summer v. winter [who knows?] it's pretty harrowing what we're presented with in terms of glacier reduction - if that's what we're looking at here.

The 12-step chocoholics program: Never be more than 12 steps away from chocolate!

Blazecock Pileon — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 00:49:47 -0800

Some folks really like it sweet. Some will start a six-year campaign to get it. Some blame Canada and France for not getting it, when it was perhaps better to blame the Swiss. Some want it healthy while others want the romance back. Some make it part of higher education, while others just want to get higher. Even vegans want in on the gooey action.

Schaulager, Basel

booksprite — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 23:21:12 -0800

Schaulager, Basel, Switzerland. "If art is not seen it is dead. If art is not conserved, it decays. Schaulager - a new type of space for art." Originating from the Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation, whose collection is stored at Schaulager under optimal conservation conditions, Schaulager is an institution dedicated to contemporary art – its conservation, research and dissemination. Building designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron.

360-degree panoramic galleries of European cities

funambulist — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 04:07:33 -0800

Arounder has an ongoing collection of high-quality full screen Quicktime VR panoramas of European cities, focusing on famous artistic and cultural landmarks (in Rome, Florence, Köln, Barcelona, Cyprus), with interactive maps and travel information. A collaboration with national tourist offices by Swiss company Vrway Communication, which also publishes Vrmag, a bi-monthly review of panorama photography, and the FullscreenQTVR directory in collaboration with the well-known panoramas.dk (previously mentioned on metafilter: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

Search for flats in Switzerland

slater — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 04:20:48 -0800

Looking for a flat in Switzerland? Yes, yet more ajax-y, web2.0 stuff, with satellite maps. This site crawls a number of swiss realty sites, and displays the available flats on a dynamic, zoomable map, according to your search criteria.